At exactly the 2:00 minute mark, DeSean Jackson puts on a fireworks display to cap off a rally with the Eagles down as much as 24-3 with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter. Thanks to his stunning punt return, Philadelphia would go on to win 38-31. Despite going 10-6 that year, the Giants, thanks largely to this gut punch of a loss, were effectively eliminated from playoff contention, although their fate was not finalized until the regular season finale in 2010.

In Jackson’s career with the Eagles, the highlight reel starts and ends with this feat.

Regardless, Jackson, ever the braggart, had his share of blunders, including this infamous folly against the Cowboys:

Jackson, recently named the 50th best player in NFL’s Top 100 list, remains a top player in the league. Even so, upon further perusal of the NFL’s annual listing, Jackson is considered the league’s tenth-best wide receiver, behind A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton, New York’s own highlight reel Odell Beckham, Jr., Demaryius Thomas, Jordy Nelson, Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, and Calvin Johnson, with the two cornerbacks he calls out, Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis, comfortably ahead of him (for those counting, D-Jax would only be the third-best receiver in his own division).

As evidenced by his 2014 numbers, Jackson can still put up some eye-popping figures (six 100-yard games, a 20.9 YPC average), but some paltry statistics, including managing a mere 56 receptions and six TDs (he was blanked in nine contests), places him nowhere near the elite class of receivers in the league. While he helped push his former team out of playoff contention in Week 16, Jackson watched his team falter to a 5-11 season amid quarterback controversy that remains unsettled going into 2015.

I am an English teacher, music and film aficionado, husband, father of two delightful boys, writer, sports fanatic, former Long Islander, and follower of Christ.
Based on my Long Island upbringing, I was groomed as a Yankees, Giants, Rangers, and Knicks fan, and picked up Duke basketball, Notre Dame football, and Tottenham Hotspur football fandom along the way.